5 research outputs found
Purification and characterization of thermophilin T, a novel bacteriocin produced by Streptococcus thermophilus ACA-DC 0040
ACA-DC 0040 produced an antimicrobial agent, which was named thermophilin T, active against several lactic acid bacteria strains of different species and food spoilage bacteria, such as Clostridium sporogenes C22/10 and Cl. tyrobutyricum NCDO-1754. The crude antimicrobial compound is sensitive to proteolytic enzymes and α-amylase, heat-stable (100 °C for 30 min), resistant to pH exposure at pH 1-12 and demonstrates a bactericidal mode of action against the sensitive strain Lactococcus cremoris CNRZ-117. The production of bacteriocin was optimized approximately 10-fold in an aerobic fermenter held at constant pH 5.8 and 6.2. Ultrafiltration experiments with culture supernatant fluids containing the bacteriocin, and further estimation of molecular weight with gel filtration chromatography, revealed that bacteriocin in the native form has a molecular weight in excess of 300 kDa. SDS-gel electrophoresis of partially purified thermophilin T showed that bacteriocin activity was associated with a protein band of approximately 2.5 kDa molecular mass
Recommended from our members
Modulation of anti-pathogenic activity in canine-derived Lactobacillus species by carbohydrate growth substrate
Aims: To investigate the effect of various carbon sources on the production of extracellular antagonistic compounds against two Escherichia coli strains and Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium by three canine-derived lactobacilli strains. Methods and Materials: Cell-free preparations, pH neutralized, were used in antibiotic disc experiments as an initial screening. The bacteria/carbohydrate combinations that showed inhibition of the growth of those pathogens, were further investigated in batch co-culture experiments. The cell-free supernatants of the cultures, that decreased the population number of the pathogens in the co-culture experiments to log CFU ml(-1) less than or equal to 4, were tested for inhibition of the pathogens in pure cultures at neutral and acidic pH. Conclusions: The results showed that the substrate seems to affect the production of antimicrobial compounds and this effect could not just be ascribed to the ability of the bacteria to grow in the various carbon sources. L. mucosae, L. acidophilus and L. reuteri, when grown in sugar mixtures consisting of alpha-glucosides (Degree of Polymerization (DP) 1-4) could produce antimicrobial compounds active against all three pathogens in vitro. This effect could not be attributed to a single ingredient of those sugar mixtures and was synergistic. This inhibition had a dose-response characteristic and was more active at acidic pH. Significance and Impact of the Study: Knowledge of the effect that the carbon source has on the production of antimicrobial compounds by gut-associated lactobacilli allows the rational design of prebiotic/probiotic combinations to combat gastrointestinal pathogens